VSO-RAISA

Voluntary Service Overseas

Regional AIDS Initiative of Southern Africa

Bongai Mundeta

VSO• Voluntary Service Overseas

• Core business is capacity building of organisations mainly through volunteer placement

• Small grants

• Exchange visits

VSO in 54 countries

VSO-RAISA

• Works through partners in 8 countries of• Lesotho• Malawi• Mozambique• Namibia• South Africa• Swaziland• Zambia• Zimbabwe

Why C&HBC is a priority• RAISA and WHO conducted a research on HBC and

care work in 8 countries• At least 80% of PLWHIV are cared for at home and

have little support• At least 92% of care givers are women and girls(community volunteers)

Community Volunteers

• By building capacity of community volunteers we can reach to the poorest and the most vulnerable communities

• Governments are not channeling adequate resources to communities and Home Based Care

HBC should be combined with palliative care to include pain relief

How Community Volunteers within HBC can be supported?

Advocacy:• Need for policies on HBC which support care providers (community

volunteers)• Building regional alliances (e.g. RAANGO influencing SADC)• VSO-RAISA through RAANGO got an opportunity to present on HBC

to SADC in 2008• On 17th August 2010 RAISA&GEMSA launched the policy

handbook at SADC, Namibia.• Establishing Care providers network for Eastern and southern and

Africa (CAN ESA)• Awareness among health professionals• Engage Government and policy makers including parliamentarians• Research-evidence based information required

Policy formulation

• There is need for policies on care work• Different countries are at different stages• VSO RAISA has partnered with GEMSA in advocacy

work so that policies can be formulated• Help Age International, REPPSI, NAP+SAR, Save the

Children are partners • Handbook on Policy developed by RAISA and

GEMSA , and Gender Links• Baroness Margaret Jay (UK parliamentarian) - a short

term volunteer organised training on policy on care work with SADC parliamentarians

Parliamentarians

• VSO RAISA has engaged with SADC PF on care work issues

• SADC PF and parliamentarians have had 3 workshops and one conference on advocacy for policies and Bills on care work.

• Zambia and Zimbabwe parliamentarians who work with RAISA have since started to have 2 hour slots in parliament to do advocacy for policies on care work

• Malawi parliamentarians are working at constituency level to engage more men in care work-some success stories

VSO-RAISA and SADC PF Workshop

SADC Gender ProtocolArticle 27(c)

• “State parties shall by 2015: Develop and implement policies and programmes to ensure appropriate recognition of the work carried out by care givers ,the majority of whom are women ,allocation of resources and psychological support for care – givers as well as promote the involvement of men in the care and support of People living with HIV and AIDS”

• SADC Heads of states already signed this protocol in 2008

Thank You